Number Of Displaced In Iraq Returning Home Declined Again

The United Nations released the latest figures on Iraq’s displaced (IDPs). In July the total number of IDPs dipped below 2 million. While that showed progress on the issue, fewer people are going home since the start of the year.

This Day In Iraqi History - Sep 19

1920 Gertrude Bell said 1920 Revolt was result of British not fulfilling promises

            to give Iraqis their own govt

(Musings On Iraq book review of Gertrude Bell And Iraq)

(Musings On Iraq review of Reclaiming Iraq, The 1920 Revolution and the Founding of the Modern State)

1925 Turks went to Permanent Court of Intl Justice to try to keep Mosul province after

            League of Nations said it should go to Iraq

(Musings On Iraq article on how Mosul province became part of Iraq)

1929 Abd Sadoun became premier for 4^th time

1936 UK officials met Nuri al-Said in Paris to discuss him mediating Palestine dispute

            Turned out he just wanted to promote Iraq

1980 Iran began heavy shelling of Shatt al-Arab, Basra and attacked ships in waterway

1983 Iran said if major powers kept backing Iraq they would have oil cut off to them

(Musings On Iraq interview with author Anthony Tucker-Jones on Iran-Iraq War)

(Musings On Iraq book review The Iran-Iraq War 1980-1988)

(Musings On Iraq book review Iran-Iraq War, The Lion of Babylon, 1980-1988)

(Musings On Iraq book review The Iran-Iraq War)

1991 UN Resolution 712 offered oil for food program rejected by Iraq 2^nd time

1996 CIA Dir Deutch told Senate Intel Comm that after Saddam sent troops into

            Kurdistan he was in stronger position and unlikely to be deposed

2001 Iraq intel paper said Afghan source claimed bin Laden Taliban and Iraq worked

            together to target America Never confirmed

2001 Bush asked CIA Dir Tenet to look into Iraq-Al Qaeda ties and said VP Cheney

            had info on links

2001 Dep Sec of Def Wolfowitz sent ex-CIA Dir Woolsey to England to look into Iraq

            9/11 and 1993 World Trade Center connections

2001 Pentagon’s Defense Policy Board held meeting on 9/11 Bernard Lewis and Ahmad

            Chalabi presented at meeting Chalabi said US should invade Iraq not Afghanistan

2001 Rumsfeld told Bush routine air strikes on Iraq about to happen as part of No Fly

Zone Bush said had to make sure they were not perceived to be in response to 9/11

(Musings On Iraq article on how Bush admin went from 9/11 to Iraq invasion)

2002 Pentagon’s Def Policy Board met Argued for removing Saddam

2002 Saddam sent letter to UN saying it had no WMD or nuclear weapons

2002 Rumsfeld told Senate that UN weapons inspections were weak and weren’t going

            to find anything

2002 CIA released report on Iraq’s ties to terrorism

2002 New intel said Iraq might have offered training to Al Qaeda and safe haven to bin

            Laden in 1990s Later proved false

2002 Bush met with 11 Congressmen to lobby them on Iraq policy Said war on terror

            going well but real threat was Iraq and WMD

2002 White House released language it would use in Congressional resolution to use

            force vs Iraq

2002 Institute for Science and Intl Sec said Bush admin was suppressing dissent on

aluminum tubes Iraq tried to buy Institute said tubes not proof of centrifuge program by Iraq

2003 CPA issued new rules for banking in Iraq to reform finances and to open up

            country to foreign investment

2003 Saddam’s Def Min Gen Hashim Ahmad surrendered to US in Kirkuk after

            negotiations

2004 Blair said Iraq was center of global war on terror

2004 Sadr faction said it kidnapped 15 Iraqi Naitonal Guardsmen Threatened to kill them

            if Sadr aide not released by US Sadrists denounced kidnapping

2005 Militia controlled police arrested 2 UK soldiers disguised as Arabs in Basra When

police refused to release them British stormed station Mahid Army went to police station leading to 9 hour gun battle 4-9 killed, 44 injured

2005 Bremer denied knowing Ziyad Cattan who he asked to stay on as procurement officer

at Defense Min when Allawi became interim PM Cattan involved in $1.2 bil in missing funds in Defense Ministry contracts

2006 US commander in Ramadi got Marine division commander in Anbar to back

Awakening

(Musings On Iraq article on Anbar Awakening)

(Musings On Iraq book review of Confronting Al Qaeda, The Sunni Awakening and American Strategy In Al Anbar)

(Musings On Iraq book review of The Marines Take Anbar, The Four-Year Fight Against Al Qaeda)

(Musings On Iraq book review Illusions of Victory, The Anbar Awakening And The Rise Of The Islamic State)

2006 Fmr Vice Army chief of staff Ret Gen Keane told Rumsfeld US close to strategic

failure in Iraq Keane said US strategy was to withdraw not defeat insurgency Said US needed more troops in Iraq to protect population otherwise change impossible

(Musings On Iraq article on pre-Surge US Iraq strategy)

2006 Pres Talabani told Bush security problem was US not arming ISF sufficiently and

            needed less US troops in Iraq

2008 Sadrist cleric Sheikh Ajrish assassinated in Basra Had been wave of assassinations

            of Sadrist officials since start of year

(Musings On Iraq article on Sheikh Arjish’s assassination)

2012 Irbil and Baghdad made agreement for KRG to deliver 200,000 bar/day of oil

            by end of 2012 for Oil Ministry

2014 France carried out first air strikes against IS hitting Zummar, Ninewa

2017 Rihana in Ana district in northwest Anbar freed

View the Iraq History Timelines 

Security In Iraq Sep 8-14, 2018

(Iraqi News)

There was a slight increase in the number of security incidents in Iraq during the second week of September. Two large attacks, one by the Islamic State, and another by Iran meant there was a large jump in casualties.

This Day In Iraqi History - Sep 18

1916 British leaders told troops to continue advance in Mesopotamia vs

            Ottomans after huge loss at Kut One of biggest British defeats in WWI

1950 PM Said threatened to expel Jews from Iraq over Israel

1980 Iran’s Foreign Minister rejected Iraq’s claim to Shatt al-Arab

1980 Saddam sent Tariq Aziz to Arab countries to argue Iraq’s case to back it against Iran

1980 Iraqi artillery hit Iranian city of Abadan

1980 2 Iranian F-5 Tiger IIs fired upon Iraqi troops along the Iran-Iraq border and were

            shot down by Iraqi anti-aircraft fire

1980 Iraq’s generals made final battle plans for invasion of Iran and set 9/22/80 as

            invasion date

1985 Iranian Op Al Quds 5 in Kurdistan ended with Iranian forces largely pushed back

            after Iraqi counteroffensive

(Musings On Iraq interview with author Anthony Tucker-Jones on Iran-Iraq War)

(Musings On Iraq book review The Iran-Iraq War 1980-1988)

(Musings On Iraq book review Iran-Iraq War, The Lion of Babylon, 1980-1988)

(Musings On Iraq book review The Iran-Iraq War)

1990 Iraq Army Chief of Staff Gen Khazraji told Saddam Iraq would lose any war

            with US

1995 Hussein Kamal interview with Time Said he defected to Jordan to help Iraq Said

Iraq had been at war too long since Iran-Iraq War Criticized Saddam for executions and arrests

1996 KDP attacked Kurdish displaced camp along Iranian border killing 11 wounding

            30 during campaign against PUK

(Musings On Iraq book review of The Kurds, A Modern History)

(Musings On Iraq book review Kurds of Iraq, Tragedy and Hope)

2001 Richard Clarke’s counterterrorism office sent Rice memo saying no Iraq-9/11 links

            found

2001 DepDefSec Wolfowitz wrote Rumsfeld that Iraq backed terrorists and might

have been behind 1993 World Trade Center bombing using conspiracy theorist Mylroie’s argument 

(Musings On Iraq article on Mylroie’s Iraq conspiracy theories)

(Musings On Iraq article on how Bush admin went from 9/11 to Iraq invasion)

2001 Reuters reported 9/11 hijacker Atta met with Iraqi intelligence in Europe Story was

            false

2002 Rumsfeld told House committee Iraq was close to acquiring materials to build a

            nuclear bomb

2002 CIA Paris Station chief met with Lebanese journalist who said Iraq’s Foreign Min

Sabri willing to work with US Lebanese journalist told CIA Sabri said no WMD or nuke programs Station chief went to CIA HQ to tell about Iraq Sabri’s claims about WMD and nuke programs

2002 CIA’s Iraq Operations Group said Iraq Foreign Min Sabri’s claims WMD and

            nuke programs inactive was dinsinformation

2003 Head weapons inspector Blix said he believed Iraq destroyed its WMD in 90s

2003 Report wave of kidnappings for ransom across Baghdad

2004 Zarqawi front group Jihad and Unification video aired on Al Jazeera saying it

had kidnapped 2 Americans and a Briton in Baghdad Demanded release of Iraqi women prisoners

2005 Iraq draft constitution presented to UN

(Musings On Iraq interview with constitutional scholar Zaid al-Ali on Iraq’s constitution)

2006 US turned over central Salahaddin to Iraq’s 4^th Division Was second such handover

            to ISF

2008 Iraqi army demanded Peshmerga withdraw from Jalawa Diyala after negating deal

with Kurds to allow them to remain in town Part of Maliki policy to pressure Kurds in disputed areas

(Musings On Iraq article on Maliki’s pressuring Kurds in Diyala)

2012 Cabinet approved new oil export-revenue sharing deal with KRG

2015 Protests in Baghdad Babil Karbala Najaf Qadisiyah Muthanna Dhi Qar Wasit

            Maysan Basra Diyala over reforms

View the Iraq History Timelines 

Review Illusions of Victory, The Anbar Awakening And The Rise Of The Islamic State

Review Malkasian, Carter, Illusions of Victory, The Anbar Awakening And The Rise Of The Islamic State, New York: Oxford University Press, 2017

American images of Anbar province have gone through a series of extremes. By the fall of 2006 the Washington Post reported a leaked Marine intelligence assessment that said Al Qaeda in Iraq could not be militarily defeated in the area, and that without reconciliation Sunnis in the governorate would continue to fight. Many got the impression that Anbar was lost as a result. Just a month later the Anbar Awakening was announced. It’s success in winning the Battle of Ramadi, and the spread of tribal fighters throughout the province was imitated across central and northern Iraq by the Surge in 2007. That would lead to a plethora of articles and books on how tribal outreach was a turning point in the war, and the tactic was tried in Afghanistan. Carter Malkasian brings an entirely new perspective to the Awakening and the fight against the insurgency. Instead of just focusing upon the period of the U.S. occupation he expanded the history out to the war against the Islamic State that started in 2014. From his perspective, the Awakening was only a temporary victory with sectarian, cultural and political forces being more powerful in determining the future of Anbar.

This Day In Iraqi History - Sep 17

1953 Mohammed al-Jamali became PM Cabinet included 7 Shiites most ever

Presented reform package which parliament rejected eventually bringing down his govt

1975 Iran and Iraq ratified border treaty between two

1980 Saddam called emergency session of parliament and announced 1975 Algiers

Treaty on border and Shatt al-Arab with Iran was voided Blamed Iran’s constant violations of Iraqi sovereignty for failure of 1975 treaty Said Shatt al-Arab needed to be Arab as it had been throughout history

1980 Saddam gave TV speech Said Iran violated 1975 Algiers Treaty was backing

Kurds Refused to return Iraqi territory Saddam then abrogated the 1949 Treaty of Good Relations and 1975 Algiers Treaty Also claimed sovereignty over Shatt al-Arab waterway

1980 Heavy fighting broke out between Iraqi and Iranian forces in Shatt al-Arab

1995 SCIRI claimed it attacked 3 Iraqi army positions in Baghdad in September

1997 UN inspectors watched Iraqis moving files and burning documents while waiting

            for access to a WMD site

(Musings On Iraq article on UN weapons inspections)

1998 Italian paper claimed Iraq offered bin Laden safehaven if he was expelled from

            Afghanistan False story

1998 Talabani and Barzani met in Washington to announce power sharing deal in

            Kurdistan

2001 Iraq’s Foreign Minister Sabri said that Muslims and Arabs considered U.S. a

            terrorist state

2001 Bush said he believed Iraq was involved in 9/11 to his national security staff

2001 Bush told Rumsfeld to continue to revise Iraq war plans but that it wasn’t a

            priority

2001 Bush told Pentagon it needed to be ready to deal with Iraq if it acted against

            US interests

2001 Dep Sec of Def Wolfwotiz sent memos to Rumsfeld advocating for attacking Iraq

Said better than 10% chance Iraq behind 9/11Memo used Iraq conspiracy theorist Mylroie’s claim that Iraq behind 1993 World Trade Center bombing

(Musings On Iraq article on how Bush admin went from 9/11 to Iraq invasion)

2001 David Wurmser and Iraq conspiracy theorist Mylroie talked to media about

            possible Iraq role in 9/11

(Musings On Iraq article on Mylroie’s Iraq conspiracy theories)

2001 Sen Allen told CNN US might think of regime change in Iraq

2002 National Security Strategy for Bush admin released Called for preemptive war to

            deal with rogue states

2002 UnderSecDefense Feith aide told DepDefSec Wolfowitz Cheney chief of staff Libby

and DepNatlSecAdv Hadley asked for chronology of 9/11 hijacker Atta’s travels after briefed by Feith’s staff that Atta met with Iraqi intel officer in Prague in 01

2003 Bush said no evidence Iraq involved in 9/11 but Iraq had ties to Al Qaeda

2003 Saddam audio tape released on Al Arabiya called for US to withdraw from Iraq

            and to increase attacks

2004 British forces raided Sadrist headquarters in Basra

2004 Draft of Iraq Survey Group report said Saddam wanted to produce WMD but had no

stocks or programs Said only WMD Iraq had were poisons for assassinations by Iraqi intelligence

2006 Anbar Salvation Council issued ultimatum for Al Qaeda in Iraq to leave Anbar

(Musings On Iraq article on Anbar Awakening)

(Musings On Iraq book review of Confronting Al Qaeda, The Sunni Awakening and American Strategy In Al Anbar)

(Musings On Iraq book review of The Marines Take Anbar, The Four-Year Fight Against Al Qaeda)

2006 Report Inter Min didn’t have political backing to purge police of militias US

commander said 5-6 of 27 National Police battalions were sectarian and criminal US began reform of National Police giving each battalion an inspection and training Maliki govt stopped Iraqi-US inspections of Iraqi prisons No officials charged with prisoner abuse despite lots of evidence Interior had fired 1500 police since June 2006 Fingerprint campaign found 1,228 police and Inter Min workers had been convicted of violent crimes under Saddam

2006 Report Pentagon tried to hire Republicans to staff CPA Hired many unqualified

personnel Thomas Foley in charge of privatizing state owned enterprises was a Republican Donor who went to college with Bush Foley put Jay Hallen former real estate agent in charge of Iraq’s stock market Hallen tried to reform market that Iraqis didn’t want so change rejected

2008 SIIC accused Maliki of creating Tribal Support Councils to bolster his support

View the Iraq History Timelines 

Speaker Of Iraq’s Parliament Selected Amongst Controversy

(Buratha News)

September 15 Iraq’s parliament elected Mohammed Halbusi the new speaker. He had the backing of Fatah, the Kurdistan Democratic Party, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Saudis. This was amidst claims that Halbusi paid millions of dollars for his rivals to drop out of the race. At the end of August for instance, Iraq News Network reported that Halbusi had offered money to Mohammed Tamim to withdrew his candidacy, and then on September 14 Tas Rebat had a story that Halbusi paid Mishan al-Jabouri to pull out of the race as well. The day of the vote, former Defense Minister Khalid al-Obeidi who was defeated for the speakership claimed that Halbusi paid $30 million to win. That was repeated by Moqtada al-Sadr’s Sairoon and Ammar Hakim’s Hikma lists. Sairoon was especially angry about this as it ran on a reformist platform and condemned the deal making that led to Halbusi’s victory. This could undermine the new speaker’s standing, but since all of Iraq’s ruling parties are involved in corruption most will likely turn a blind eye to the affair.